ELECTRICITY 457 



between the stopper and coating of lead ; this probably did 

 not condense the damp of the air so readily as glass, and 

 consequently the machine worked well when mine refused 

 to work at all. 



Monday, 19th March 1770. The machine on being taken 

 out of the box was found to have had the plate and 

 one of the phials broken by some accident. The former 

 was replaced by a spare one. Every part was perfectly dry 

 and worked with great freedom, but a small proportion 

 of electricity only could be excited, at most enough to 

 strike through one card. During all our experiments the 

 floor-cloth conducted as it had done before, though it 

 had not been washed for some weeks. Our experiments 

 were soon cut short by the wind, which was foul, freshening 

 so much that we could not with safety let the machine 

 stand. The day was rather hazy. 



Friday, 23rd March 1770. All the day was clear, and 

 the evening also very fine. At sunset the machine was set 

 up. It at first entirely refused to work, but after about a 

 quarter of an hour some sparks were excited. The most, 

 however, that we could do was to obtain a slight shock. 

 The floor-cloth conducted as usual, which we ascertained by 

 resting upon a table or chair, in which case we did not feel 

 the shock as we always did when standing upon the ground. 



